What is wrong with St.Charles County? (St. Louis, St. Charles: condo, affordable house)

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

St Charles is a nice suburban area. In a way, it reminds me of how the Valley in L.A. used to be.

The appeal is strong for families and rightfully so. Good schools, low crime, cheaper real estate.

I do think it could've been built to higher standard though. I was recently out west and I was impressed with how well planned the newer areas were. It seemed like all the subdivisions had parks, sidewalks, and fitness paths. And there was a lot of "scenery" moving on those paths. We have a areas in StL like that, but St. Charles is not one of them.

There are better suburbs.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

St Charles is a nice suburban area. In a way, it reminds me of how the Valley in L.A. used to be.

The appeal is strong for families and rightfully so. Good schools, low crime, cheaper real estate.

I do think it could've been built to higher standard though. I was recently out west and I was impressed with how well planned the newer areas were. It seemed like all the subdivisions had parks, sidewalks, and fitness paths. And there was a lot of "scenery" moving on those paths. We have a areas in StL like that, but St. Charles is not one of them.

I can always tell how nice or not so nice an "established" neighborhood is by the density of quality shade trees and quantity of vegetation. The not so nice areas don't spend money on landscaping, and that is a big negative in my book, particularly relating to cooling costs during summer months. Some metro areas have horrible urban heat island problems, Louisville is way up there on the list. I live in southern Indiana, and made sure to buy a house with the greatest elevation and tree cover as I want to mitigate the heat and humidity as much as possible. I also will plant a few dozen trees on the property as I have just under an acre of land and only need a small lawn area.

[Sassybluesy]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

St Charles is a nice suburban area. In a way, it reminds me of how the Valley in L.A. used to be.

The appeal is strong for families and rightfully so. Good schools, low crime, cheaper real estate.

I do think it could've been built to higher standard though. I was recently out west and I was impressed with how well planned the newer areas were. It seemed like all the subdivisions had parks, sidewalks, and fitness paths. And there was a lot of "scenery" moving on those paths. We have a areas in StL like that, but St. Charles is not one of them.

St. Charles/St. Peters DOES have a lot of parks, and trails. I'm not sure how it compares to out west...but we DO have lots of nice parks.

[RisingAurvandil]

Originally Posted by Sassybluesy

St. Charles/St. Peters DOES have a lot of parks, and trails. I'm not sure how it compares to out west...but we DO have lots of nice parks.

I've worked in contracting here for years. St. Charles does have a lot of nice parks. But they are generally isolated and not integrated into residential areas. Hardly any of the neighborhoods are connected to fitness paths, and most lack sidewalks. Very few roads are pedestrian or bike friendly. It's just not an area conducive to an active, healthy lifestyle.

I visited Quail Ridge recently. Beautiful new suburban park. But I was baffled that there wasn't a single connection to nearby neighborhoods. Who plans this stuff? And I don't think there any integrated fitness paths in Wentzville, Lake StL, or O'Fallon. St. Peters has a few and is doing the best in that regard. Old town St. Charles also has a couple.

[flynavyj]

Originally Posted by Sassybluesy

St. Charles/St. Peters DOES have a lot of parks, and trails. I'm not sure how it compares to out west...but we DO have lots of nice parks.

My wife and I lived in Kansas City for a bit (Olathe) and we were AMAZED at Johnson County's park system, and how interconnected it was to neighborhoods, trails, rivers/creeks, and other parks within the county. We absolutely loved it, as the park system would bounce in and out of neighborhoods, then disappear into the woods for miles...before dropping you off again in a park area with playground, etc, in a different neighborhood. It was marvelous for biking, hiking, jogging, or distance running...or just walking out of the neighborhood and into nature, without having to see cars for a while.

[bigproblems]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

I visited Quail Ridge recently. Beautiful new suburban park. But I was baffled that there wasn't a single connection to nearby neighborhoods. Who plans this stuff? .

The big attraction at Quail Ridge is the frisbee golf course my dude.

[bigproblems]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

There are better suburbs.

Such as?

[Sassybluesy]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

I've worked in contracting here for years. St. Charles does have a lot of nice parks. But they are generally isolated and not integrated into residential areas. Hardly any of the neighborhoods are connected to fitness paths, and most lack sidewalks. Very few roads are pedestrian or bike friendly. It's just not an area conducive to an active, healthy lifestyle.

I visited Quail Ridge recently. Beautiful new suburban park. But I was baffled that there wasn't a single connection to nearby neighborhoods. Who plans this stuff? And I don't think there any integrated fitness paths in Wentzville, Lake StL, or O'Fallon. St. Peters has a few and is doing the best in that regard. Old town St. Charles also has a couple.

I live in St. Peters, so I'm MORE familiar with the parks and trails in St. Peters...but St. Charles DOES have the Katy Trail with easy access from downtown (and other points along the way). We also have the Great Rivers Greenway. Great Rivers Greenway is the regional parks & trails district, connecting St. Louis City, St. Louis County & St. Charles County in a network of greenways. So far, there's around 125 miles of trails.

[Lou Mann]

In response to the person wondering about St. Charles County: Here are a few facts from a lifetime local. A hop, skip, and a paddle from St. Louis County, the towns in St. Chas Cty are the cleanest, friendliest, safest, most beautiful and culturally-rich places to live in the United States. I feel compelled to boast a bit, as we happen to have the best sports teams and most grateful fans in the nation -The StL Cardinals (current National League Champs heading into their 12th World Series), the 2019 Stanley Cup Winning Blues Hockey team, a new football team coming in 2020, the BlackHawks, and Major League Soccer teams to arrive by 2022), best golf courses attract PGA tours, award-winning fine dining, local family activities and local sports galore, like the Rascals, countless historical sites and nature trails for cycling and hiking along the river, gorgeous lakes and parks, incomparable local talent in the arts, dance, music, and theatre, and Fortune 100 corporate jobs, as well as top-rated schools and universities. If "outsiders" have not heard much about it, perhaps one reason is that residents would like to keep their spectacular resort-like amenities and weather to themselves! With off-the-charts growth in the past several years, the challenge is to maintain what makes it so attractive to begin with. Such is the ever-growing problem for natives who grew up here - once it becomes overpopulated, the only choice is to keep moving further west. Pretty soon we'll be in Kansas! In other words, it's fine with us if the majority of America believes the false narratives and horror stories they see and hear on the fake news about our beloved cities and hometowns....(we know better)! I should work for the Tourist Center. If I start mentioning restaurants, this would never end - we have the best food and ice cream shops on the planet.

[FrankMiller]

XFL BattleHawks, not BlackHawks.